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Real Estate Finances factsheet cover

Real Estate Finance

Edwin Coe’s real estate finance team comprises a team of highly experienced lawyers with an in-depth knowledge of real estate finance transactions.

We provide a partner-led service, and give advice which is not only accurate and comprehensive but also practical and commercial, proactively seeking solutions to issues which arise.

We advise both lenders and borrowers on loan originations secured on real estate, both in the UK and overseas, across all sectors of the real estate spectrum, including logistics, industrial, student, retail, leisure, office and residential.

Our real estate finance practice acts on transactions involving the acquisition of real estate-backed debt, both on a single loan and portfolio basis. We advise clients from ‘cradle to grave’ in respect of the acquisition of such loans or loan portfolios, advising on loan restructuring, security enforcement, real estate management/value accretion, and advising on other loan recovery strategies post-acquisition.

Working alongside our construction team, we have particular expertise in advising developers and lenders on the financing of large scale development projects.

The firm also has a large team of litigation specialists who are experienced in handling a wide variety of debt-related disputes, including pursuing claims for breach of warranty in relation to debt purchases, professional negligence claims for lenders and insolvency-related disputes arising out of real estate lending.

Typical areas on which we advise include:

  • Advising lenders and borrowers on new loan originations, including bilateral and syndicated loans, senior loans, mezzanine loans, bridging loans, investment loans and development loans
  • Advising loan servicers and facility agents/security trustees on new loan originations
  • Advising lenders, including established lenders and start-ups, on their loan and security documentation, and helping design loan policies and procedures
  • Advising on loan-on-loan transactions
  • Loan restructuring
  • Security enforcement
  • Advising on loan and loan portfolio sales and purchases
  • Finance-related litigation, including recovery actions for lenders.

Examples of transactions our team has worked on

Loan origination (lender side)

  • Acting for a family office in providing a £30 million junior facility subordinated to a £60m senior facility, for the purposes of funding construction costs on a significant residential development site, with the junior facility structured and documented as a Jersey-listed bond.
  • Advising a UK debt fund on a development loan secured on a purpose built student accommodation scheme, with a GDV of c£100m, with complex issues arising from the acquisition of the development from administrators.
  • Advising a UK challenger bank on a loan secured on a portfolio of hotels and pubs.
  • Advising a UK private bank in relation to a £30m loan secured on a major land estate in Gloucestershire, with additional security taken over a residential property in West London.
  • Advising a private bank on a number of cross-secured revolving credit facilities secured on various portfolios of residential properties.
  • Advising a UK specialist lender on the refinancing of a portfolio of premises across Central London which included commercial and residential development sites.
  • Advising the facility agent and security agent on their role in various syndicated and bilateral loan facilities, with the largest deal being in excess of £300m.

Loan origination (borrower side)

  • Acting for the developer on an award winning development in Mayfair which consisted of high quality luxury apartments. We advised on all legal aspects of the development including the complex funding arrangements.
  • Advising the borrower on the financing and subsequent refinancing of a UK shopping centre held within an offshore trust structure, with debt held by senior and junior lenders.

Advisory

  • Advising a new bridging lender in drafting a full suite of lending documents, including loan facility and security documentation, and advising on the creation of lending policies to assist in the origination of loans secured on real estate.
  • Advising a UK Bank on a new residential mortgage product including drafting certain documents as well as the required internal policies for the lending.

Loan/Security Enforcement & Loan Recoveries

  • Advising a mezzanine lender on the restructuring of a loan facility provided to it by its lender following various covenant breaches.
  • Advising a German bank on the restructuring of two £30m loan facilities, one secured on a portfolio of 40 mixed use properties and one secured on four hotels. The restructuring involved refinancing part of the portfolio, consolidating and cross-securing the remaining facilities and taking security over a number of other properties owned by the Borrower.
  • Advising a loan servicer on a multi-million pound professional negligence action in relation to a loan held within a CMBS structure.
  • Advising the administrators of a defunct lender on a portfolio of professional negligence actions, as well as advising them on various guarantee enforcement actions.

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